Windfarm approved for Cornwall is biggest onshore scheme for a decade
Imerys Wind Farm will have turbines more than 100 metres high
Last updated 10th Feb 2026
A windfarm which the government has approved for Cornwall is the biggest onshore wind scheme in England for a decade.
Imerys Wind Farm is one of more than 200 new renewable energy projects which have been approved to generate electricity.
It will have turbines more than 100 metres high.
The Government announced today (February 10th) the results of the latest "contracts for difference" auction for clean energy technologies including onshore wind and solar farms.
Under the contracts, renewables generators bid to receive an agreed rate for the power they produce.
If the price of electricity drops below the agreed rate, they are paid a top-up subsidy from consumer bills and if it exceeds it, the generators have to pay back the difference to consumers.
The latest auction has secured a record 4.9 gigawatts of solar power, including West Burton solar farm, a nationally significant infrastructure project and the largest solar farm to win a government renewables contract, on the site of a former coal-fired power station in Nottinghamshire.
Onshore solar schemes have been agreed at a price of £65.23 per megawatt hour while new onshore wind has been secured at £72.24 per megawatt hour.
The Government said the prices were under half the £147 per megawatt hour that analysis shows building and operating new gas power stations would cost.
Once built and generating, the renewables will reduce bills, drive down wholesale energy prices and protect families and businesses from fossil fuel price shocks, DESNZ said.
Contracts have been awarded to 1.3 gigawatts of onshore wind, including Imerys Wind Farm in Cornwall, which is the largest onshore wind project to be successful in England in a decade, after a de facto ban on the technology was lifted by the Labour government.
Also securing a contract is Sanquhar II Wind Farm in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, the fourth largest onshore wind farm in the UK.
Taken together with last month's contracts for offshore wind, the Government said it had secured a record 14.7GW of clean, homegrown power from 201 schemes.
That is enough to power the equivalent of 16 million homes, and keeping it on track to meet its "clean power by 2030" mission to source almost all the UK's electricity from low carbon sources, officials said.
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: "These results show once again that clean British power is the right choice for our country, agreeing a price for new onshore wind and solar that is over 50% cheaper than the cost of building and operating new gas.
"By backing solar and onshore wind at scale, we're driving bills down for good and protecting families, businesses, and our country from the fossil fuel rollercoaster controlled by petrostates and dictators.
"This is how we take back control of our energy and deliver a new era of energy abundance and independence."
Chris Stark, the head of the Energy Department's "mission control" to deliver the clean power pledge, said: "Today's record results are another boost for Britain's 2030 clean power mission. They mean more homegrown power, greater energy security, at a good price for the consumer."
"With each new solar and onshore wind project we reduce Britain's reliance on gas power plants, insulating families from the next spike in global gas prices."
In January, record amounts of offshore wind power - some 8.4 gigawatts - was secured in contracts for difference auctions, with six new wind farms being paid £91 per megawatt hour on average once they are operating.
Energy think tank Ember said that once built, the new projects announced on Tuesday would bring the UK's total wind and solar capacity supported by the contracts to more than 50 gigawatts, when accounting for those already backed by the system and under construction.
Frankie Mayo, senior analyst at Ember, said: "This is a great clean power achievement.
"Wind and solar are unstoppable across Britain, with new projects announced today unlocking access to reliable, homegrown energy and cutting our reliance on volatile fossil fuels for decades to come."
Industry body Energy UK's chief executive Dhara Vyas said: "Today's auction results mark another positive step towards a clean power system, with record capacity procured across non-offshore wind technologies.
"This builds on the success of last month's offshore wind auction results and maintains the momentum in making our energy system cleaner and more secure.
"The projects awarded contracts in this auction will attract billions of pounds of private sector investment and create thousands of jobs in communities across the country."
Lucy Dolton, renewable generation lead at Cornwall Insight, said the outcome of the auction would give the UK a "much-needed surge in momentum as it pushes toward secure, homegrown energy".
She said the investments would strengthen the UK's position against volatile gas markets but said the challenge was now delivery, with renewable projects historically facing delays due to grid connection backlogs and planning holdups.
The latest auction round "is a step forward but its impact will depend on the UK's ability to deliver these projects on time, get the grid ready and build the storage to support them", she added.